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My belt sander is attacking me - help!

Well, never had any issues with my Jet combined belt and disc sander, but today it started electrocuting me. I get zapped whenever I touch the metal (while it is running) or even when I am sanding pieces with metal spacers the current runs trough it. I admit, it needs a good cleaning and I will do that first thing tomorrow. But does anybody know what else I should be looking for? I'm a bit of a dummie when it comes to anything electrical. Of course, I could bug Woodcraft, but I have dozens of pieces prepared for sanding over the next week, so the timing is really annoying. Thanks for any tip you may have,

good cleaning needed. unscrew the cowling where the cord goes in the back and see if any connections are loose. vacuum up any loose metal dust from the spacer grinding. Then check the connections to the switch, make sure everything is tight and not loose. sometimes, connections vibrate loose or screws come unwound and arcing occurs. check to make sure there are no cuts, cracks or burns in the wiring or cord. If that still doesn't help, take it outside, douse it with gasoline, set it on fire, unzip your pants and piss on it.

I haven't lived the life I wanted, just the lives I needed too at the time.

LOL, I had that last thought many times before I assume it's static building up, but I have not changed anything, sander is in the same spot, I am wearing the same work shoes etc. Just was wondering why that suddenly started and how to get rid of it. I just read that humidity and temperature may have something to do with it, but usually it should be humid enough out here (even though it has been very windy and a bit colder than normal, lately). Will definitely start with a thorough cleaning tomorrow.

You are getting current to the chassis somehow. I would imagine, as Son said, that you have metal either built up inside, or something has come loose. It should be pretty clear to tell where its happening there should be a small burn mark where the arcing inside is taking place. You could also just put on gloves to shield yourself in the interim, but be careful shorts can do big damage to equipment.

LOL, I had that last thought many times before I assume it's static building up, but I have not changed anything, sander is in the same spot, I am wearing the same work shoes etc. Just was wondering why that suddenly started and how to get rid of it. I just read that humidity and temperature may have something to do with it, but usually it should be humid enough out here (even though it has been very windy and a bit colder than normal, lately). Will definitely start with a thorough cleaning tomorrow.

Stefan

Windy and colder. It's you building up a charge, you need to ground yourself first. they actually make a small personal grounding device for situations like this. I'll see if I can find it.

I haven't lived the life I wanted, just the lives I needed too at the time.